Quick thoughts following Mississippi State’s 45-31 win over Kentucky.

What it means: Mississippi State has some work to do still. While they’ll probably maintain their No. 1 ranking, they looked shaky at times and allowed Kentucky to hang around longer than most thought the Wildcats would be able to.

What I liked: The zone-read execution. Dak Prescott and Josh Robinson looked pretty darn good after a week off. Prescott was smart about when to give it off to his running mate and when to keep it himself. While the Bulldogs took a few losses on doomed option calls, they still churned out nearly 7 yards per carry, running through the Wildcats defense over and over again as Kentucky whiffed on tackles.

What I didn’t like: Dak Prescott’s ball control. In addition to throwing an interception, caused by a big hit he took as he released, Dak fumbled twice on quarterback runs, falling on the ball himself twice. While forcing fumbles is a skill, recovering them is mostly luck. The Bulldogs lucked out that Prescott was able to scoop up his own errors, but they might not be as fortunate next time.

Key play: Robinson’s 73-yard fourth quarter touchdown. Kentucky hung tough with the Bulldogs all afternoon, but Mississippi State finally broke them with Robinson’s long scoring run with 11:47 to go. The bowling ball of a back broke a tackle at the line and raced down the field. Just when it appeared the Wildcats were going to take him down around the 20 yard line, Robinson broke off a nasty cutback to score and put MSU up 38-24.

Who’s the man: Robinson helped take over this game for Mississippi State. When his long touchdown run put him at 185 yards for the day, Robinson had gained more than 130 of his yards after contact. Dan Mullen and Prescott leaned on the junior running back heavily, giving him the ball 22 times. Robinson gained 194 yards and 2 TDs in the process, fueling a decent offensive day for the Bulldogs.

What’s next: The Bulldogs head back to the friendly confines of Davis Wade Stadium to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks, who are coming off a 45-17 win over UAB.